Mama Mia’s in Felton received a much-needed face-lift, after being in business for nearly 20 years.
Owner Frank Leamy — who owns the Mama Mia’s in Cambell, Morgan Hill, and Gilroy as well — said that the renovations began about two months ago to put an end to the restaurant’s old and dated look.
“So I figured lets remodel, clean it up,” Leamy said. “We got rid of all the lattice and painted the ceiling.”
A wine bar was recently built and installed toward the back of the restaurant, where guests can sit and enjoy a beer while watching the game on the new big screen TVs.
“We are going to do beer and wine, all draft beer and ecliptic types of wines — local wines like we used to do before,” he said, “Like Hallcrest Vineyards in Felton.”
Leamy also plans to host dinners with the wine maker, so guests have the opportunity to watch and talk to the winemaker.
After buying the restaurant from the original owner in 1995, Leamy ran Mama Mia’s until about two years ago and subleased it until October of last year. Since his return, he has focused on revamping the place.
“Its nice to see new life, vitalization, and heart,” he said. “A lot of my old customers are coming in and go ‘wow I love it, this is great, you should have done this years ago.’”
New glassware with proper wine glasses, fresh paint, and kitchen equipment have been added as well.
“It’s just going to take a while for everyone to get used to it around here, because the whole valley is stubborn with change,” said Host and Waiter for Mama Mia’s, Derek Wolf.
Many of the original cooks have returned, Leamy said, and the original recipes are back too.
“We added an a la carte option. So now … you can have lasagna for $3 cheaper and maybe have an appetizer and the lasagna and a dessert instead of always being forced to have a soup or salad.”
Mama Mia’s menu features authentic Italian Cuisine with a modern flair, offering pizzas, pastas, and tremendous cioppino.
“The sauces are my family’s recipes so the meat sauce and the marinara are from my grandmother and then our calamari is best in town,” Leamy said, “I’ll put it up against anybody, even Stagnero’s downtown.”
The restaurant also makes house made desserts like mud pie, bread pudding, and tiramisu. The chocolate mousse spumoni ice cream was also Leamy’s grandmother’s recipe, which is made by Marianne’s Ice Cream in Santa Cruz for all four of Mama Mia’s locations.
Leamy said that he expects renovations to be complete this week, with the installation of art.
